Screen printing has long been a very practical and economical means of coloring or coating designs, letters, insignia, etc., on all types of substrates. For example, apparel screen printing has developed into a tremendous industry.
While screen printing is widely used it is not without its problems and drawbacks. There is one major problem and concern in screen printing--the toxicity of vapor that emanates from the solvent in the ink composition. Invariably, solvents typically used in screen printing inks and coatings are toxic and when they evaporate from the substrate tend to cause toxic vapors to be left in and around the environment occupied by workers.
To deal with this problem, screen printers have been required to make substantial capital investments in expensive ventilation systems that sometimes are not capable of reducing the levels of toxic vapors below acceptable standards. Obviously, these ventilation systems are expensive and add to the cost of the screen printing operation. It is also conceivable that even with such ventilation systems that the quantity of screen printing activity that can be carried on in any one facility is limited by the ability of the ventilation system to exhaust the toxic vapors from the atmosphere in and around the workers. Beyond that, irrespective of the efficiency of the ventilation systems, workers are still exposed to the resulting toxic fumes and that in itself presents a very significant potential danger to workers in and around screen printing facilities.
Therefore, there is and continues to be a need for an efficient non-toxic screen printing ink or composition.